New Beer Weekend #55

Good day advocates! Here's a new one to me and the last of a mix 12pk from Hop & Barrel (my personal fave from it is Hudson Haze IPA) which I shall seek out. Cheers!
5th Triple Triple IPA 10%ABV
L: 4.0// S: 3.75// T: 4.0// F: 4.0// O: 4.25
12oz can into a 12oz tulip glass.
L: Pours a slightly hazy golden caramel with good steady carbonation. It has a thin white head with sticky lacing and some broken banding.
S: Pineapple, caramel, light bread, apricot. Light alcohol as the beer warms.
T: Candy sweet hops, pear, cedar and pine resins, lime zest, tangerine. It is sticky sweet and alcohol is well masked. The hops spread out across the palate as the beer warms.
F: Clean, brisk and a rather deep medium-heavy bodied mouthfeel with a bold, medium-long soft, dank finish. It is moderately dry but not overly drying. It becomes more dry as the beer warms.
O: A fantastic tasting Triple IPA that is a sweet sipper and is a long, evolving taste journey. It is hop forward and does not have an alcohol taste despite it's higher ABV. It is very good in it's style.

 

Happy Sunday friends!
I have a sour that I will post later as I am not sure at all if it’s a Kettle Sour or just a sour.
But these I know- a stout from @SP23 in the most recent Can-cans BIF.

I was too slow with the camera to get the full head as it dissipated quickly with lively carbonation that perplexed me. The color of both the beer and the head was spot on. The carbonation wasn’t- it was more like a soda.
The aroma was peanut butter. Not peanut but peanut butter. I was loosing hope.
The taste led with peanut butter but soon gave way to the stout with its coffee and cocoa flavors. Okay, I’ll finish it.
Turned out to be better the longer I drank it, I ended up wanting more.
This is quite good if you like peanut butter flavors in your beer, they do a great job with it.
Cheers!

 

Cross posting from the Sourpalooza tasting thread, this is courtesy of @WunderLlam. and is outstanding, IMHO.





4.35/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a decidedly raspberry color with a pinkish-tinged sudsy head that is in a hurry to vacate the premises and let me get my fruit on. The nose is crammed with ripe raspberry especially and some fresh strawberry notes as well.

The raspberry and strawberry flavors are perfect and complemented exceptionally well by a bit of sweetness from the lactose. There is no pucker in this sour, which is my preference.

The mouthfeel is medium and on the dry side. This is REALLY good, which is not surprising given the prowess of the brewery. Fantastic stuff.

 

Greetings, fellow NBWers.

Been a couple few since I've been here. Got into a bad habit of seriously drinking on Thursday and Friday and being not so into beer in the weekends. Also went out if town weekend before last.

Anyway, we had about 20-30 minutes of actual rain, along with a few claps of thunder earlier this afternoon. That's a big deal at this point (the rain part, anyway). It's 65°, rather breezy, and easily the coolest day to hit Spokanistan since the middle of June.

This New Beer Weekend I've been drinking on an international basis. Started yesterday afternoon with this beer from Italy, brewed not too far from Venice:

Blandly pleasant. Billed a "Doppio Malto," it drank more like a garden variety amber lager.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/9076/241149/?ba=woemad#review
Later on, yesterday, I had an IPA from Japan. No freshness date on the can, so I had to gamble:

It was a gamble I lost. Very astringent, almost to the point of unpleasantness, but otherwise a very one-dimensional bitter hoppy flavor. Maybe that's because of age, but without a date on the can who knows? Anyway, I decided to rate but not review this one, and move on.

Today was a much better day for international drinking. I tackled a Baltic Porter from Estonia:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/37027/163784/?ba=woemad#review
This was more like it. As Baltic Porters go it was quite complex in the aroma, a little less so in the flavor, but still very good. I've heard very good things about this Brewery. They apparently do quite a few barrel-aged goodies, so I hope I find more of their stuff. Unfortunately, they were a brand imported by Shelton Brothers, so there may not be any more coming here.

Not sure if I'll have anymore new beers today, or if they'll be truly new beers or just beers I haven't formally reviewed on BA yet. So, have a great week if I'm not back on here today, folks.

 

Glad you enjoyed it Jon. I liked the 4 pack I bought as well albeit much older than yours. . The imports have had me enamored for the last several months as well and I’ve enjoyed my journey exploring them. Your commentary and recommendations have been a big part of that. I appreciate you, brother! Cheers.

 

Good evening NBS/NBW and thanks @jkblr for the kick off this week.
We travelled down to Hatford Ct this morning. Stopped by the Thomas Hooker (Colt) location.
The Oktoberfest was on and delightful. As a side we spent some time at Berkshire Brewing (on the way home) 1.5 miles from the house. Enjoyed BBC Marzen as well as some live Bluegrass.
Enough about the day, here's the beer
Cheers all
Oktoberfest Märzen Style Lager

Lager - Märzen / Oktoberfest | 6.2% ABV

Thomas Hooker Brewing Company
Bloomfield, Connecticut

3.9/5 rDev +0.3% | Average: 3.89
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 16 oz can, dated 7/30/21 into the test mug.
A - Deep coper color, lovely lager carbonation. Gentle, determined, feeds a nice loose knit froth. Throughout the experience lacing shows each sip
S - Caramel, toasted grains, earthy thread from the noble hops
T - Malt but not overbearing, some caramel, pumpernickle, rye toast. Hints of toffee, and brown sugar. Again with the earthy thread.
M - Lovely texture, semi sweet start, solid grainy mid, excellent dry finish.
O - A very good Marzen, avoids the sweet side, while maintaining that slight hop bitterness. Finish is delightfully dry

 

#2, courtesy of @Victory_Sabre1973, this beer was truly an experience.





3.88/5 rDev -8.9%
look: 2.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

This pours ….. a color unlike anything I’ve ever seen in a beer. I know what it looks like to me, but I’ll choose discretion as the better part of valor and say it looks like thousand island dressing that hasn’t been mixed particularly well.

The nose has the guava and strawberry and LOADS of the white chocolate. Now we’re getting somewhere. The guava and strawberry actually work well together on the taste, and the white chocolate adds sweetness that creates a unique flavor profile that works really nicely for me, and the mouthfeel is in line with the style.

Now if I could just stop looking at it whilst I drink it.

 

Well what do you know, I found another new to me beer this Sunday. One of the reasons why I like the NBW format better. Otherwise, this wouldn't have made the cut, and it would have just been one, let alone two other reviews for me, that I got around to reviewing.

Anyway, Equal Parts Brewing (used to be called Sigma) Medina Sod Pale Ale. 5.7% ABV.

Listed here as a Wheat Beer-American Pale, with other reviewers saying its very "hazy". This has certainly been retooled, as far as I know...anyway, since they might still use some wheat, I don't know if I'm going to submit a change (unless I come across something that confirms that).

Another anyway...


I guess this one has gone through many changes I wouldn't put it in the "hazy" category, and if there is any wheat here it is incredibly minimal to the point of not having any real meaning for the style.

Pours with a light chilled haze. Golden orange color. A two finger white head forms with good retention and lace left behind.
Lots of fruity hops in the nose. Melon and berry for sure. Its all overripe and pungent. Not that that is a bad thing, but its not something I'm the biggest fan of for a pale ale (or whatever this actually is).
Taste is like the nose, that overripe melon and berry medley. Sticky sweetness in the middle. A bit of pine and bitterness lingering. Fairly standard, but at the same time, enjoyable enough to drink.
A medium body and moderate carbonation With a slightly sticky, slick and oily feel. Easy enough to drink one, but not something I'm really looking forward to again.

Its fine for a pale ale, nothing to unique or interesting. Plenty of other example both regionally and local that I would go to before this. Still, can't say its bad, just right down the middle. Which has its place.

Overall score 3.51, which is B territory for me.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/44383/258292/?ba=champ103#review

Had at MKT Bar, a nice spot that does live music almost everyday. My friends played today, and it was pretty great.

 

Workhorse Festivalt IPA with Passionfruit, Orange and Guava - looks like this was brewed for something involving Alt 104.5, Philly's Alternative Rock station; didn't see much on the website after a quick glance. 16 oz, canned on 06/22/21. Pours a light yellow, generous head, very hazy. Not much on the nose at all other than fruit. Taste is very fruity and sweet, slight hop balance but that comes in the middle; mostly fruit throughout. Good beer but a one and done for me and this single is enough (but I would gladly drink again if handed one). Prost!

 

Another weekend begins...

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34222/478436/



Full name is:
"You've Got All That Is Really Needed To Save A Dying World From Its Funkless Hell"

Canned 02JUNE21.

Moderate pour yields a one and a half inch white head over a cloudy dishwater golden body with slight lacing. Nose of slight tropical fruit, slight citrus, and slight pine with even slighter white grape. Taste is medium dank citrus and pine with some white grape; finishing with citrus pith bitterness and slight pine sap bitterness. Good feel and overall, not a great beer but certainly drinkable.
Cheers!

 

Last one, also courtesy of @WunderLlama. Stunning beer, IMHO





4.5/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Full transparency up front: I absolutely LOVE cherries, so take that into account when perusing this review. The beer pours a cloudy dark cherry color with a frothy, sizzling head that quickly disappears. Absolutely gorgeous beer.

The nose is bright and funky and CRAMMED with tart cherries - literally jam packed. The taste just expands on the aromas, with a bright, funky flavor gliding into layer upon layer of tart cherry flavors.

The mouthfeel is bright and on the dry side. Quite simply, this is the sour I could drink all day, every day.

 

Flying Fish Oktoberfish - they have made one of these for as long as I have known but it was actually an Ale and "Octoberfest style". It was decent, but clearly an Ale and not something I wanted to drink often and if I am wanting the style. When I saw this I was surprised to see that this is actually a Lager now.

Pours a nice amber color with a generous head. Smell is on the sweeter end. Taste is nice, on the slightly sweeter side but malty and roasty as well, nice and crisp; reminds me of Victory Festbier with less chocolate. I could drink a few of these for sure. Prost!

@JackHorzempa

 

Nice start to our private vacation. Great breakfast at Sweet Seasons Farm and another trip to Beth's Farm Stand where we seem very happy to leave cash, but the quality of farm fresh produce is worth it!

Hot day but a quiet cool breeze is coming in early in the evening. Not much on the fishing front, but expect to hit it tomorrow.

Anyway, an anomalous style for the summer, but keeping it local with a beer left by our property owner. I had a sip at the brewery yesterday, and I have four more for later...so I was impressed. I also picked up a four pack of their Kolsch-style beer that I enjoy.


Fledgling Series Russian Imperial Stout. The brewery says it is Dan's winter project. The can says I am holding a new creation, so lets see what gives.

Awesome pour, nearly pitch black with a rocky khaki head that falls to a thin layer but clings admirably to the glass. Glad I have more to pour into my Duvel when we return home...

Smell is malt, fresh coffee, and chocolate. The ABV isn't shy, but it isn't overly boozy. As it warms, dark fruit comes to play - fig and prune, maybe a touch of dark cherry. There is no acrid, burnt note at all.

The taste is extremely smooth after the first sip. That not so shy 10% ABV packs a punch on the initial sip, especially with the inevitable inhale. Then it mellows as the ample roast malts take over, then a subtle but definite sweet dark fruit comes in and I will stick to fig and dark cherry. Bright, fresh coffee comes in and delivers some sweetness and there is just a touch of char, then smooth chocolate on the finish. Mid-sip the words Dr. Pepper flew thru my peanut brain. Some mild tobacco flavors is along for the ride, reminding me of cherry flavored pipe tobacco.

Feel is smooth, a bit chalky, and there is sweetness and a bit of bitterness in the aftertaste.

Overall, this big boy stout delivers on point for the style. The flavors are quite well integrated, making it a dangerously smooth drinker. A bit north of 4.0 on this one. It ticks all of the style boxes as I would expect and is a nice drinking beer.

 

Alright last beer…I wanted to start exploring more random beers I knew nothing about that I would never think about buying if not for this thread. Central and South American lagers are something I’ve never tried so here is what I went with this week, a Nicaraguan Beer.

Toña Lager Especial



This looks like beer I’d want in a humid environment. Crystal clear and super light gold, not much head or retention but it doesn’t bother me. It’s color says drink me, you’re thirsty.

This beer has a an almost cornbread like smell to it. It is sort of sweet and sort of grainy.

Taste is slightly sweet and again like the nose, grainy. It is almost like a white bread with some grains thrown in. That’s about it, it is very simple and non complex.

Mouthfeel is super light, prickly carbonation feel, and very easy drinking clean finish.

I liked this beer for what I imagine it’s setting usually is. If I were leaving in equator weather this is exactly the beer I’d want. It’s incredibly simple, light and refreshing. I’m looking forward to trying more beers like this in the future.

 

A new-to-me from UPBC!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/46275/562853/



Recent canning, new beer, but no date.

Moderate pour yields a one inch (plus) white head over a slightly hazy, medium golden body with sticky lacing. Nose of citrus, pine, and slight tropical fruit. Taste mirrors nose fairly closely with flavors of orange, slight pine and finishing with slight citrus pith bitterness and even slighter pine bitterness.
Cheers to UPBC, Tunbridge for a fine offering!

 

Thanks for participating!

 

Hey NBWs
New beer to me comes courtesy of @Chaz by way of a collaboration between Black Stack Brewing and Toppling Goliath Brewing

Jurassic Park TIPA New England style hopped with Citra Citra Cryo and Riwaka

Pours golden yellow orange like orange juice, thin head and slight lacing

aroma of pineapple. mango some damp grass and and fruity berries

Taste is sweet and tropical, hoppy

Full chewy mouthfeel, soft feeling low carbonation and a sweet to dry finish. No hint of alcohol

Overall it's a easy drinking TIPA, really tasty and well balanced

4.50/ 4.25/ 4.50/ 4.50/ 4.50 4.44 rDev -2%

 

Been away the last couple weeks as I've been in two weddings that were supposed to be summer of 2020, but were moved to this year.

The first was my brother's, which was small, but had a nice beer tasting courtesy of a generous @colby600. I figured it made sense to try a beer that Bill sent me a while back that's been sitting in my fridge.

I haven't taken the plunge into barleywines, and after finally having a slow weekend, decided to give one a try. I like getting out of my comfort zone for NBS, and I'm happy I did. I'm hoping the rest I've been keeping in my cellar are as good as this, as I thoroughly enjoyed the beer.

Barreled Souls Big Bang - Buffalo Trace Barrel-Aged



4.44/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a dark caramel color with about two fingers of light caramel head. As the beer settled, it became translucent at the top of the glass and stayed a dark caramel below. While cold, the smell is very boozy, as the bourbon really shows. As it warms, the caramel starts to show. The taste also changes as it warms. It was much sweeter cold than I expected. I also got a bit of raisin on the first couple sips. As it warmed, the toffee and caramel starts to shine. This was good cold and as it warmed. I haven't really reviewed many barleywine beers, so I don't have much to compare it to, but it feels medium bodied with little carbonation.

This was a real nice drink. I don't think I've been disappointed by a single Barreled Souls beer, so I see why some of you rack up tons of bottles in the society.